CDC releases infection prevention guide for outpatient care

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released an infection prevention guide aimed at outpatient facilities.

Although more medical care is now taking place in outpatient facilities, infection control procedures are not always followed strictly in these settings, the agency said in a recent press release. The guide, titled “Guide to Infection Prevention for Outpatient Settings: Minimum Expectations for Safe Care,” is modeled on existing CDC guidelines that are currently applied mainly in hospital settings. Its recommendations for outpatient facilities and practices include the following:

• develop and maintain infection prevention and occupational health programs,
• ensure that at least one individual with training in infection control is employed by or regularly available to the facility and is responsible for overseeing the facility's infection prevention program,
• develop appropriate written infection-prevention policies and procedures based upon evidence-based guidelines, regulations, or standards,
• provide job- or task-specific infection prevention education and training to all health care personnel,
• ensure availability of sufficient and appropriate supplies for adherence to standard precautions,
• perform regular audits and competency evaluations of staff's adherence to infection prevention practices,
• use the CDC's infection prevention checklist for outpatient settings to assess infection control practices, and
• adhere to local, state, and federal requirements on health care-associated infection surveillance, reportable diseases, and outbreak reporting.

The complete guide, along with the accompanying infection prevention checklist, a free CME course, and education materials for clinicians and patients, is available online.